The Weekly Cute

It happened again. I almost forgot the weekly cute.
Luckily Dad sent me a reminder and some sources, including these sweet little jaguars...at'll do. :)

You see, we've been running around quite a bit today to get ready for our trip tomorrow (!!!) There was: the regular kitten tending gig this morning, lunch to catch up with a friend, Christmas tree disposal, a library visit for airplane reading material, car cleaning, and now, some laundry and house cleanup. >phew<
We're so excited to get there! However, not so excited for the 30-40˚ temperature drop. Yikes!
Hopefully we'll see you in Iowa so soon! :)

Post Holiday

Hello again! Christmas came and went in a flash, as it does. I'm glad that Christmas Eve seems to technically count for celebration so it can be stretched out over two days. I had the good fortune to have the day off work so we could have some fun. Wednesday was a tough day in the retail world, so I was so pleased to come home and see Nathan had put up the stockings, cleaned, put candy canes on the tree, and downloaded Christmas Vacation!

On Christmas Eve day I prepared a big lasagna as my mum always does and Nathan made more chex mix. We watched the latest SNL Christmas Special before dinner and then snuggled in to watch Scrooged before bedtime. On Christmas we had Stollen from Dinkel's Bakery in Chicago for breakfast (my roomie Dania works there!) and opened packages (spoiled again this year!) We cleaned up the apartment and lazed about before heading out to participate for the first time in the great Chinese food Christmas tradition. My friend Naomi joined us for Chinese buffet and to see Avatar in 3d! It really is as exciting as they say.

I hope that next year we will be able to celebrate with family, but if not, I think Chinese food and a movie might be the way to go. We missed you all and hope you had a warm and lovely holiday! I am eagerly awaiting our trip to Iowa at the end of the week.

The Weekly Cute

via cuteoverload

Two words: Puppy Tuckus

What do puppies dream about? The same visions of sugarplums? Milkbones?
A very Merry Christmas to you, Puppy. To all puppies of the world.

Solstice Day

Solstice day! The 21st is here already, and I am still not "ready" for the holidays. It is officially the first day of winter, though I'm sure most of the country feels like they have been blanketed in winter for some time. We're missing out on the seasonal pity party because it has been 50 degrees here the last two days! While I'm glad we aren't dealing with blizzards and the panic that ensues when the Seattle area develops even an inch of snow, it would make our holiday a smidge more complete to have some flurries, to make some snow angels.

You see, I have kind of dropped the ball. It seems like we've been all kinds of busy and hubub, but there isn't much to show! The apartment is a mess of my crafting materials and the general dirt that occurs when I craft too much and routinely clean too little. Thanks to Nathan finally being home to stay (and not having to run into school to turn in grades, proctor tests, and attend extracurricular meetings), we have peanut clusters and chex mix. :) But that's the extent of our treats thus far. I made a slew of salt dough ornaments with friends, so our tree is slightly more full than the photo you'll see below. (You'll also see I haven't removed the banner left up from Nathan's birthday but believe it will have to do in lieu of the proper Christmas decorations I have yet to create!)

But you know what? I'm having fun anyway. I like having projects, and in some ways I like this feeling of not being able to keep up with the holiday Jones's. It is missing the warmth and magic of nostalgic childhood Christmases, but it is realistic to the way Nathan and I are forging our own little life together. Right now we're cutting some corners, discovering the essentials, holding things together in a duct tape sort of fashion. I was afraid the holidays would feel empty without the delights we're used to, and of course we're missing family, but it's a bit like starting from scratch. Each little thing (like watching Die Hard because it's one of the only 'Christmas' movies available free on netflix!) is adding up to make it our own.

The tree, now with some ornament.

The holiday stationery I made for Mom.

A homemade Secret Santa gift for my coworker.

Nathan preparing the Chex mix. I can't keep my hands out of the bowl.

The Weekly Cute

Do you remember Mueski? Remember how sweet he is?
Well...he now has a cute little friend! :)

My friend just adopted a kitty from MEOW to be Mueski's little buddy. So far it is still a rocky friendship, but as you can see, they are warming to one another--no pun intended. She has named him Spartan, and I'm so excited to meet him! (And maybe be his catsitter, too!)

Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Shelene!

A wintery birthday cake for a December birthday girl.
I hope you have a happy, cozy, marvelous day!
xo

The Weekly Cute

Better late than not at all...

Thanks to my friend Naomi for tipping me off to Surprise Kitty. :)

The Nutcracker

Clara before the tree, pnb.org

One of my favorite things about the holidays is The Nutcracker. I love to listen to Tchaikovsky to get into a festive mood, and I have fond memories of watching the animated movie as a child (which my brother managed to uncover for us to watch last year!). But the very best, if you can manage it, is to go to the ballet.

My mom took me to the Des Moines ballet's rendition when I was younger, and I had the great joy to see the Joffrey perform this a few years ago in Chicago. Even if you don't consider yourself a ballet fan, it's a magical experience. The music, the dancers, the costumes--perfect holiday memories.

Seattle's Pacific Northwest Ballet is said to be quite impressive. Imagine my excitement to learn that each year they perform The Nutcracker with sets and costumes by Maurice Sendak! It looks amazing. Even sweeter, PNB made a movie of this back in 1986 AND you can watch the whole thing free on Hulu! Merry Christmas to us! :D

{who doesn't wish they had an Herr Drosselmeyer?}

How It's Shaping Up

Christmas has arrived at the Nathan-Callie household!

Well, a tannenbaum at least. And a good one I must say!

We picked it out and brought it home Saturday night. I believe the tree selling fella called it a Norwegian Spruce. It has short, pokey needles and it smells divine! It might be a little big for our living room (you can see it has been wedged between the couch, desk and window) but it is such a nice presence. It's a nice thing to look at. I even love the funny little cactus top. I can't wait to hang ornaments. We discovered that one strand of lights wasn't nearly enough (which filled me with a strangely intense but short-lived feeling of Christmas failure) so it isn't twinkly yet. I will be so excited to share our tree, all dolled up, with you in the next few days! :)

It has become downright cold recently. Fortunately it hasn't rained in sometime and a bright sun has been showing. In general, we have been doing some projects around here and filling time. Nathan is finishing up work for his classes (woot, last week!) and internship. I am making holiday cards and a few other little things. I went to a large craft show in Seattle this weekend with friends and now have several diy projects on the back burner. There is a certain hustle and bustle feeling around the season, isn't there?

How is it going for you?

The Weekly Cute

After all these years...still, all I really want for Christmas.
Check out that center split, those feisty swipes! This puppy's been watching too many Jean Claude Van Damme movies. Watch out for Chong Li, Puppy--he'll getcha. Me, however...I'll just hug you til forever.

Hello, December

style-files, martha

December, I'm excited to see you again. :)
The gray of the season has come easier this year, perhaps because of other distractions, or perhaps because I have eagerly awaited the holidays. The Bright and Merry shines out on the rainy days. The holiday music has been playing since the day after Thanksgiving. The teas are brewing. The decorations are in the works.

Who else is feeling gleeful?
If you were here, I'd invite you over for tea. We would make salt dough ornaments and paper chains. I'm hoping to pull Nathan into my holiday spirits and put up a tree soon. I hope you are filled with all the merry and bright I'm feeling this season.